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Washington Burial Grounds

Memorials	:	0
Location	:	Lawrenceville, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate	:	40.4678000, -79.9588000
Description	:	When asked to name the cemeteries of Lawrenceville, people will quickly respond, "Allegheny" and "Saint Mary's." Yet an older, though smaller, cemetery existed prior to the opening of Allegheny Cemetery in 1844. This was the Washington Burial Ground, located under what is now Main and Fisk Streets, Government Way and the Carnegie Library. Founded in 1814 on a one-and-a-quarter acre tract of land, the burial ground was donated as a cemetery for the soldiers stationed at the Allegheny Arsenal by Lawrenceville's founder, William B. Foster. We know that as late as 1840 the burial ground was still in use by the staff... Read More	When asked to name the cemeteries of Lawrenceville, people will quickly respond, "Allegheny" and "Saint Mary's." Yet an older, though smaller, cemetery existed prior to the opening of Allegheny Cemetery in 1844. This was the Washington Burial Ground, located under what is now Main and Fisk Streets, Government Way and the Carnegie Library. Founded in 1814 on a one-and-a-quarter acre tract of land, the burial ground was donated as a cemetery for the soldiers stationed at the Allegheny Arsenal by Lawrenceville's founder, William B. Foster. We know that as late as 1840 the burial ground was still in use by the staff of the Arsenal. On September 19, 1840, Major H. K. Craig, commander, issued notice, "John Penny, Laborer of Ordnance, died yesterday. He will be buried at 3 pm this day in the Lawrenceville Burying Ground. The officers and enlisted men of the detachment will attend the funeral in uniform from his late quarters." While originally conceived as a resting place for troops, the burial ground was eventually opened to the community. Regulations regarding burials and the up-keep of the facility were established in an ordinance passed by the borough council and signed into law by John Sarber, Burgess, on July 26, 1834. When the borough of Lawrenceville was incorporated into the City of Pittsburgh in 1868, all public lands within Lawrenceville became the possession of the city. Trouble began to brew over the site in late 1881 when the Washington Sub-District School Board of the City of Pittsburgh elected to use the burial ground as the site for a new school. The School Board petitioned the City council for passage of an ordinance granting the burial ground to the school district. City Council agreed, and executed the deed of transfer on December 31, 1881. Little regard was given for the remains of those buried in the Washington Burial Ground as work crews began to excavate the foundation and cellar. This disrespect for the deceased aroused the bitter resentment of many civic-minded citizens, who took the school board to court in an effort to halt construction of the school. Among those contesting the school were J. Rogers Jeffrey, William D. Moore, A. M. Moreland and Morrison Foster. Jeffrey and the others contended that as many as 500 persons were buried on those grounds. The plaintiffs also argued that the land was donated expressly for the purpose of a burial ground and not for "educational purposes" as the school board petition had falsely and fraudulently maintained. A compromise was eventually reached which required the moving of interred bodies to Allegheny Cemetery, and that the balance of the burial ground be enclosed by a suitable fence. A school was erected on the site in 1885, and was known as the Washington Sub-District No. 2. Its name was changed in 1912 to the Stephen C. Foster School and it continued to serve the education needs of the community until 1939. As part of the settlement, a monument was erected on May 25, 1887, which still stands as a reminder of the early days of the history of Lawrenceville. This 12-foot high granite shaft bears the inscription: "In honor of the American soldiers buried here. We will emulate their patriotism, and protect their remains." Source: The Bulletin, April 1990 (a Lawrenceville local publication) Reproduced with permission.

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Washington Burial Grounds is located at Lawrenceville, Allegheny County ,Pennsylvania ,USA.
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Latitude: 40.4678000
Longitude: -79.9588000

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Nearby Cemetories:

1. Ohave Shalom Cemetery
Millvale, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4970100, -79.9641800

2. Ohav Zedeck Cemetery
Etna, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4972000, -79.9642000

3. First Congregational Church Cemetery
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Coordinate: 40.4971000, -79.9476000

4. Cneseth Israel Cemetery
Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4916000, -79.9868000

5. Kether Torah Cemetery
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Coordinate: 40.4916000, -79.9868000

6. Machsikei Hadas Cemetery
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Coordinate: 40.4931000, -79.9856000

7. Saint Johns Lutheran Cemetery
Millvale, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4970000, -79.9809000

8. Saint Luke's Lutheran Cemetery
Millvale, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5027155, -79.9813334

9. Workmens Circle Branch #45 Cemetery
Bauerstown, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5062290, -79.9687640

10. Tree of Life Cemetery
O'Hara Township, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5011000, -79.9229000

11. Saint Michaels Cemetery
Mount Oliver, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4185982, -79.9843979

12. Saint Peters Cemetery
Mount Oliver, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4166985, -79.9813995

13. First Saint Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
Mount Oliver, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4152985, -79.9835968

14. Bingham Street Methodist Episcopal Burying Ground
Mount Oliver, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4130900, -79.9883800

15. B'Nai Israel Cemetery
Penn Hills, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4649000, -79.8805000

16. Sunset View Cemetery
Penn Hills, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4789009, -79.8788986

17. Pine Creek Cemetery
Fox Chapel, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5224991, -79.9116974

18. Saint John Vianney Cemetery
Carrick, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.4062540, -79.9923990

19. Saint Alexander Cemetery
Bellevue, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5056000, -80.0363998

20. Mount Royal Cemetery
Glenshaw, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5405998, -79.9689026

21. Saint Paul's Lutheran Cemetery
Baldwin, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.3950000, -79.9696000

22. Saint Adalbert's Cemetery
Carrick, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.3986015, -79.9942017

23. Concord Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Carrick, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.3966000, -79.9868000

24. Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church Memorial Garden
Fox Chapel, Allegheny County, USA
Coordinate: 40.5140680, -79.8782860

Washington Burial Grounds

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